Aleister Crowley
Edward Alexander Crowley (1875–1947), born in Royal Leamington Spa, England, was
a writer and occultist who founded the religion of Thelema and also worked as a
poet, novelist and mountaineer; throughout his career, he drew a circle of
followers to his esoteric teachings and, in 1920, established the Abbey of
Thelema in Cefalù, Sicily, where residents performed rituals at set times of
day, including the Gnostic Mass; though his books sold poorly in his lifetime,
they were noted for their esoteric themes and went on to shape occultism and new
religious movements; his important wor...
